Tomatoes - all going wrong?? :(

[kingkano]

After my success with some early indoor tiny toms, I was thinking cool finally cracked it.  My tom plants when put out were good and healthy (posted a pic way back when), but since then seem to have gone rubbish.  They are very small, some with yellow leaves, and just dont look good.

Can anybody help?  Few pics below.  The last one is like one of the better ones.  What can I do to get them growing big and strong?  Its not the varieties because I gave my leftovers (1 of each) to a friend who grew them in pots outdoors and and they are 4x the size and lookin lush!!!

Haven't given any tom food yet, about to start that this week as the first truss on a few has set (mostly just 2 or 3 toms).  

thanks in advance

[kingkano]

[tim]

Would love to help, but have enough unsolved probs of my own to think of advising others! = Tim

PS If you cut the size of your pictures, you might find that more folk would have time to download them??

[sarahr]

It could be a mineral deficiency

[growmore]

Provided you haven't set em in those peat pots which you bury in the soil and they rot away but sometimes they don't ,leaving plant root bound.
I think all they need is some good liquid fertilizer like tomorite or something of that sort..
The plant in the second pic with the leaves slightly yellowing might benefit from some epsom salts added to the watering can when You water it ,about a level teaspoon to 2 gallons .Cheers..Jim

[aquilegia]

Being totally thick here - are epsom salts organic? Some of my toms have magnesium deficiancy.

Where do I buy them from?

How often should I water the toms with them?

[kingkano]

Would love to help, but have enough unsolved probs of my own to think of advising others! = Tim

PS If you cut the size of your pictures, you might find that more folk would have time to download them??

Oops.  I thought they was quite small lol.  I keep forgetting there is still modem users among us *sorry everyone!!!*.  Just checked and I am very sorry, I thought I had sized them to 80k (my usual web size) not 200k!!!  Muchos aplogies.  I cant fix it till I get home tho as its my own webspace :(

Yeah I am thinking something defficient.  tonight I will give them a feed of tomato fertiliser and maybe sprinkle a little growmore around just as a boost.  The soil is bad so I guess thats the cause......

Hopefully they can recover...

Thanks

Ken

[cleo]

If it is of any consolation I have seen a lot sadder plants than those grow up to be strong and healthy. I must have done something wrong this year as a couple of mine look decidely ill as opposed to a bit`poorly`.

Stephan.

[tim]

Yes, Stephan - one of his looked a lot better than some of mine!!

Aqui - 'magnesium sulphate' from (?) garden catalogues or 'epsom salts' from the chemist.

4 oz/gallon = 1 oz in a 2 pint sprayer. Well dissolved + a drop of detergent. Fortnightly, 3 times. = Tim

[kingkano]

If it is of any consolation I have seen a lot sadder plants than those grow up to be strong and healthy. I must have done something wrong this year as a couple of mine look decidely ill as opposed to a bit`poorly`.

Stephan.

Cheers I will hope for the best then :)  Pics now resized a bit smaller.

Sorry to hear your suffering the same Tim.  Hopefully we can both recover them!!

[aquilegia]

thanks Tim. I hope yours recovery soon. Or the rest aren't affected if it's fatal.

[john_miller]

All I'm having come up is the middle picture. The yellowing lower leaves are indicative of nitrogen deficency. Tomorite alone will provide so much potassium that it could  exacerbate the deficency. If flowers are showing feed with Tomorite by all means but you must also supplement it with a high nitrogen fertiliser.
Aqui, are you sure you have Mg deficency? This is normally associated with plants that are producing fruit and is unusual in small plants. What stage are yours at?

[allotment_chick]

Mine look like that KK (In fact - yours look pukka in comparison).  Happens every year and I'm sure a good deal of it is down to checking when planting out.  My lottie is far more exposed than my back garden where they are hardened off.  I find a feed or two of the 'miraculous growing' sort very effective!  It's early days - don't panic just yet - I find outdoor toms grow on amazingly once it warms up a bit and their roots get out!  8)
AC x

[Ceri]

mine did too - I really thought I'd blown it and would lose the lot (all four plants!) even when they were still in pots - they went yellowish, esp the bottom leaves, had little black dots on them, lower leaves started to wilt and wither - threw them in the ground anyway and lo and behold a month later they are dark green, growing fast and finally showing signs of flowering.  Whatever I did wrong in their early days the garden has put right I think!  Great relief as its my first time with toms

[kingkano]

All right perhaps I did panic too early??  ::) ::)

I gave a feed of tomato food, and threw a big pinch of growmore round each plant, and majority have perked up looking greener and setting their trusses better.  Will give another feed and see how things go, but I guess your all correct, a little tlc and some time ;)

cheers

Ken

[tim]

Does one not have to be a bit careful with granular fert on roots? = Tim

[The gardener]

To me I think the answer is in the soil. Who was it that used to say that? antsers int soil

Or in this case whats possibly not in the soil?

Like John, I have looked for clues in your pictures and I too think your ground lacks 'nitrogen'

The three things I noted was; the yellow leaves and as I have said I go along with John on this.

Another is 'the mares tail'prominent in the third picture. I general associate this with poor drainage, acidity and generally poor soil.

Finally; the mulch was it well rotted? could it be pulling the nitrogen from the ground as it rots down? thus starving the tomatoe plants of nitrogen.

Based on what I see this is all I can offer I'm afraid.

[john_miller]

Another possibility is, reading the other responses here, that the N deficency is cold induced. Cold at the roots that is. The use of a black plastic mulch, or a red one, if they are available in the U.K., would help to ameriolate this problem.

[john_miller]

Ameriolate? Ameliorate.
I wish to add that Tomorite (and similar properiatary products) or, more particularly, potassium, when applied in too large a quantity will, by a process known as ionic antagonism,  induce magnesium and, possibly, calcium deficencies in plants. Lack of these elements, especially in tomatoes, can easily result in decreased yields (blossom end rot for instance), not the hoped for increase. These products should not be used as a general panacea but only in circumstances that call for their use.